RNs are committed to the community

By ERIC WILLIAMS
SPECIAL TO THE VINDICATOR
The Gallup Poll has once again named registered nurses the most trusted and credible professionals in the United States. Registered Nurses (RNs) are truly the strongest advocates for patients in any health care setting and serve as the clinical safeguard for patients in their care. As RNs, we have a vested interest in the treatment we deliver not only because of professional pride, but also because our families, our friends, our neighbors and colleagues are recipients of that care.
In difficult financial times, too often healthcare facilities allow economics to drive their decisions rather than the principle of providing the highest quality of health care. Each of the 740 registered nurses at Forum Health in the Mahoning Valley promise to this community that we will be your advocates for safe patient care, and our first priority continues to be the delivery of the highest quality of nursing care possible. The physicians and registered nurses of Forum Health, working together, have achieved many four star ratings with regard to positive patient outcomes at our hospital.
Basic human right
While many people recognize the contribution of the physician, what hospitals fail to tell patients and what statistics show is that the level of registered nurse staffing in hospitals can make an enormous difference in patient outcomes. It is time we recognized health care as a basic human right instead of big business.
Every local patient or potential patient should be aware of the following statistical evidence of the value of health care provided by licensed nurses:
High nurse-patient ratios (three or more patients per nurse) in intensive care units increased the number of patient days in the ICU by 49 percent.
For each additional patient assignment beyond four patients per nurse, the odds of a patient dying within 30 days of admission increased by 7 percent; likewise, for each additional patient, the odds of the nurse failing to recognize and intervene when serious complications occur (failure to rescue) increased by 7 percent.
Among medical patients, more nursing hours of care result in fewer urinary tract infections and gastrointestinal bleeds; among surgical patients, more nursing hours result in fewer instances of pneumonia.
The Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) states that nurse staffing levels have been a factor in 24 percent of the unanticipated life-threatening events reported during 2002.
Hospitals, including Forum Health, that worry about the cost of employing licensed nurses, should consult "Nurse staffing, quality, and financial performance" in the Journal of Health Care Finance, summer 2003. The report states that a 1 percent increase in full-time registered nurse employees elevated operating expenses by 0.25 percent but had no effect whatsoever on profit margins.
The Registered Nurses at Forum Health look forward to open and honest dialogue with our employer during these difficult financial times. The community can be assured that the RNs will never break our commitment to provide safe care. Employers of nurses and prospective patients would be wise to recognize that whether or not they get well or stay well has everything to do with registered nurses. The numbers don't lie.
Registered nurses make the difference.
I am offering a very simple concept to remember. Registered nurses employed at Forum Health save lives. The more registered nurses delivering the care, the better your care outcomes will be, and the healthier our community will be.
Eric Williams, BSN, RN, is president of the Youngstown General Duty Nurses Association.